


Lesson 2: Family

by betsib, sandorara



Series: Students of Light [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Friendship, Gen, M/M, OC Galore, Past Child Abuse, Self-Indulgent, christmas fic in june, lore bending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 19:27:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19091560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/betsib/pseuds/betsib, https://archiveofourown.org/users/sandorara/pseuds/sandorara
Summary: How two modern day Miqo'te, who in another age could have been Warriors of Light, spend Starlight together.





	Lesson 2: Family

"You okay?," G'yozah asked, voice mostly a low hum as he rolled close the older man he'd just shared a chain of good moments with. 

"Yeah," he mumbled back, brushing his dark, almost purple hair away from his still flushed face.  "That was..."

"Good?," G'yozah finished for him with a grin, and he nodded.

G'yozah had found him in the Dragonhead, sitting by himself near the counter, looking extremely out of place. Well, not so much  _ found _ as been directed to him with meaningful glances and wiggling eyebrows from Haurchefant the moment he walked in. He knew what that meant now. There was someone who needed a bit of a good time, and G'yozah was most usually more than happy to provide. 

This time it had brought him to a pretty decent hotel room for the night, as the man, R'amen  _ Nunh _ (what!), was apparently both a real and adoptive father of  _ actual living children _ , and living with a woman who had kicked him out of the house to "go get laid by some hot guy already or you're not allowed home for Starlight". It was both a little funny and sad, but it had been a  _ productive _ night.

Now, G'yozah wasn't convinced he was the type that woman had meant with that comment at all, but, he  _ had _ had a really good time with R'amen. And maybe this poor nervous man would actually be able to brave flirting with some bigger guys now. Because that, G'yozah knew from experience, was worth it.

"It is good isn't it, I mean, I've never done anything with women myself but, I sure know what it's like just wanting to be fucked by a guy," G'yozah said with a laugh. 

"It's quite different," R'amen said "I had been longing for it for a while, quite honestly. Thank you." He smiled and G'yozah noticed the beginnings of lines forming in the corners of his eyes and— Yeah, that was really attractive.

"Treat me to breakfast and we're even, otherwise I may need to request payment in the form of  _ you  _ fucking  _ me _ ," G'yozah responded with a soft laugh. 

A hint of nervousness returned to the man's face, and G'yozah felt a little bad right away. "I'm joking, but breakfast would be nice. We can just chat for a bit, like, about hot guys even."

R'amen smiled again and nodded, and yeah, G'yozah was definitely weak for those small signs of aging,  _ Gods _ .

In the end it took them a good two hours to make it out to a cafe  — with a detour of R'amen sucking G'yozah off in the hotel room shower  — but, here they eventually were, and the cup of coffee in G'yozah's hand was about 9000 times better than the dorm coffee.

"Nahh I knew for like, as long as I can remember really. Or well, my family runs a hotel and it's been like forever since I realised I was just staring at male guests. But— the southern outskirts of the South Shroud isn't exactly the wildest place to grow up so I never even kissed anyone until I moved here to study," G'yozah explained with a chuckle, taking a sip. "Then of course, I found my way to the Dragonhead pretty fast and the rest is history. Doing my best to make up for my lost, horny teenager years."

R'amen smiled softly and stirred his tea, his dark fringe falling in front of his eyes as he looked down. 

"I guess I have about, a decade or so to make up for myself, eventually," he said. 

"Oh?," G'yozah asked curiously.

"My family is very,  _ very _ traditional, and I was pressured into marrying and having children at a young age. Then, I first properly fell in love with a man when I was about your age, I guess. I left my marriage and went for it, and it was wonderful for a while." He looked to the side, brows furrowing a little.

"I'm sensing a but," G'yozah said.

"Yeah, he was a horrible criminal, and I naively got involved. I eventually got out but, it did turn my life upside down, and— made me afraid of loving men. Well— afraid of a lot of things. Thya, the woman I live with, has really helped me and I do really love her. But— I guess it was time to face that I am actually just...  _ really gay _ ." 

The smile was sheepish this time, with eyebrows raised, and G'yozah chuckled softly, spreading some marmalade onto his croissant. 

"Well, congratulations and welcome to the gay life, just go to the Dragonhead more often and wiggle your ears a bit and you'll have hot guys lining up in no time. Success guaranteed, worked for me." G'yozah grinned.

R'amen laughed softly. "I might need a bit more working on my confidence before that, but, this has been fantastic."

"I'm glad! And— If I remember right you should be allowed home for Starlight now too?"

"I guess so." Another laugh. "Are you going home, to —  was it the South Shroud — yourself?"

"My mum wants me to go," G'yozah laughed. "But I’d quite like something different. There's this LGBT+ starlight at campus that sounds like a lot of fun that I'd actually much rather go to. Starlight! Surrounded by hot guys!! Imagine!"

R'amen laughed again, and he seemed much more relaxed than earlier. He was going to be alright (and eventually properly boned), G'yozah figured.

***

G'yozah was lying on his bunk, face smushed into his pillow, thinking about heading back out to find someone to bone him properly too after all when his tomestone went off. His mum.  _ Of course. _

"Hi mum," he mumbled into the phone, rolling over to lie on his back. T'oast's foot was sticking out from his bunk above him. Was he napping? Or reading?

"Have you booked your train for Starlight yet, Dumpling?"

G'yozah hummed. "I haven't had the time really— Mum, I sorta, have somewhere I'd want to be?"

"You need to book it, or it's going to be really expensive."

"But mum, I'd like to stay here. With friends."

His mum was silent for a moment. G'yozah felt like he was counting every second.

"Yozah. It's starlight? We haven't seen you for months!"

He sighed. "I know I know, but like, we celebrate Starlight at home every year? Can't I come next year instead? I wanna try the Starlight party here once. I'll come by sometime after instead?"

"Your sisters will be very disappointed, you know."

G'yozah chuckled. "No they won't,  _ you _ will."

"Of course I will, sweetheart! I miss you!" 

"I knooow, I'll come by after, I promise, okay?"

"I'm cancelling your tomeflix if you don't."

G'yozah gasped dramatically, then laughed. "Understood."

He could stay! He wasn't even  _ that _ big on the whole lgbt+ starlight, he wasn't that big on starlight overall, but, going home just meant the same stuff year after year, and he liked new things. He liked change and adventure. Also, he really just wanted to wrap himself up as a present for some hot guy, and have great sex all through Starlight Eve.

"What was that about?," T'oast's voice came from above, his head sticking out over the edge.

"Huh? Oh yeah, Starlight. Mum wants me to go home, but I'm gonna stay here over the holidays."

"Ahh, I see, that's nice." T'oast's head disappeared again.

"What about you? Going anywhere?," G'yozah asked with a smile.

"Nah, don't have anywhere to go. You'll just have to deal with me being here too."

G'yozah laughed. "As if that's an issue! I just figured you had some old friends or family to visit in Gridania."

T'oast was quiet for a moment, and G'yozah peeked out of his bed to see if he could see him.

"Not really, at least no one I'd like to spend a family holiday with."

G'yozah frowned.

"But you had some foster families right?"

"Yeah, I mean..." T'oast paused for a moment again, and G'yozah heard him shuffle onto his side. "Some were decent, but none considered me family enough for that."

"Man, I'm sorry, T'oast," G'yozah responded, feeling actual ache well up inside when he thought about T'oast's experiences again. It was just unfair. "So... You've never, really celebrated it?"

"No, I mean... I've sat in a corner? I've handed out presents? I've done the dishes? One year I wasn't even allowed 'home', but it wasn’t a big deal."

The ache morphed into a shape more like anger. G'yozah bit his lip for a moment, then scratched his ear, then just decided. There was no other choice.

Out came the tomestone, a few swipes and then the signals went through.

"Yozah? Did you forget to say something just now?"

"Yeah mum, forget what I said, actually. I'm coming back home for Starlight, I'll be booking the train in a sec. Just— I'm gonna be bringing a friend, my roommate T'oast. That okay?"

"That's— I'm so glad, Dumpling but— Of course you can, just let me know your train shedule."

"Yeah, I'll tell you more soon, just, make everything just as usual, okay?"

"Of course."

He closed the call with a grin directed up at T'oast, head sticking out from his bunk with a confused look on his face.

"We're gonna celebrate Starlight!"   
  


***

T’oast was nervous. G’yozah had told him it was nothing to worry about, his family was ‘annoying but nice’ and they would love him. T’oast wasn’t so sure. His experience with families was pretty much limited to the foster families he’d had growing up, and as a rule, they did _ not  _ love him.

Part of him almost wished he had declined the invitation, but G’yozah had been so excited about him experiencing a traditional family Starlight, and he couldn’t say no. Besides, he was curious to see how G’yozah grew up.

The hotel G’yozah’s family ran in the South Shroud was small, cozy and not particularly busy this time of year it seemed. An older but still quite pretty dusty-pink haired miqo’te woman was putting up decorations as they approached, and she smiled widely when she saw them.

“Yozah! Welcome home!” she said. “Come give your mother a hand, will you?”

“Haven’t been here for months, but straight to work,” G’yozah laughed, giving his mother a hug before taking the garlands from her. “Mum, this is T’oast, my roommate.”

“Hi,” T’oast said nervously. “Thank you for having me.”

He put forward his hand to shake hers, but found himself engulfed in a hug instead. “Welcome! I’m so happy to see Yozah finally brought home a cute boyfriend.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” G’yozah protested somewhere behind his mother’s hair.

“And someone the same age too,” she said, ignoring him, then pulled back, still smiling. “But you’re tiny! You must promise me to eat a lot during your visit.”

“I...promise?” T’oast said quickly, a little overwhelmed.

“Leave him alone, mum,” G’yozah said, balancing on a stepladder to hang up the glitter. “You’ll scare him away.”

“Oh nonsense, I’m sure he can handle it,” G’yozah’s mother said. “T’oast, was it? Come on in and get warmed up. It looks like it’s going to start snowing any minute.”

“Abandoning your only son to the cold. I see how it is,” G’yozah said dramatically, then grinned towards T’oast. “You go ahead. I’ll be just a minute.”

T’oast followed G’yozah’s mother into the hotel. The lobby was warm and inviting, and he could see a few guests sitting around. It all seemed like a small, cozy family business, and somehow it was easy to picture G’yozah as a permanent fixture in the environment. 

“In! Renadine! We have a guest!” G’yozah’s mother shouted. Two young women, both sharing G’yozah’s distinctive hair colour, appeared behind the counter.

“Welcome to The Flying Griffin,” the slightly older looking one said, smiling brightly towards him. “Did you have a reservation?”

“Not a guest, a  _ guest _ ,” G’yozah’s mother said with emphasis. “This is T’oast, G’yozah’s boyfriend.”

“Oh,” the younger woman said. “I expected him to be older.”

“Ah, actually, not boyfriend, just friend. Roommate,” T’oast said quickly. “I’m T’oast Tia, it’s nice to meet you.”

“This is G’renadine, my oldest and most responsible,” G’yozah’s mother said, gesturing towards the woman with the bright smile, then towards the younger woman. “And G’in, Yozah’s twin.”

“It’s lovely to meet you,” G’renadine said, and G’in grinned.

“We’re here to tell you about every embarrassing thing Yozah has ever done,” she said. “Just say the word.”

As she finished, G’yozah finally appeared behind them. “I have come to rescue you,” he told T’oast. “Let’s head up to my room.”

“What, no hug for your older sisters?” G’in said, and G’yozah made a face towards her.

“Eleven minutes! It still doesn’t count,” he said, and it sounded entirely like routine. He did go over to hug both of them quite thoroughly before leading T’oast up the stairs to the left. They led up to a small corridor, with several wooden doors. This had to be the private side of the hotel, as he’d seen guests walk to another set of stairs earlier. They passed a couple of doors, one of them standing slightly ajar and revealing a glimpse into a casually messy room, and a pair of lacy underwear T’oast could have lived without seeing. Then finally G’yozah stopped at the third door, a wooden, red ‘Y’ adorning it. 

“Here we go,” G’yozah said, and opened the door to his room. And T’oast just stared.

And stared some more.

“Wow,” he managed finally, stepping inside behind G’yozah. “Exactly how many stuffed animals do you have?” he asked in disbelief. The bed was full of them. And there were more of them on the shelves; animals, cartoon characters, mythical beings in all colours, shapes and sizes covering almost every surface.

“A few?” G’yozah said, casually throwing his bag in among the animals on the bed. “I like having something to cuddle at night”, he explained with a shrug.

“So I’m basically your new stuffed animal?” T’oast asked, feigning hurt, and G’yozah gave him a worried look before he saw T’oast’s grin.

“Just in case that was partially serious, you’re not,” G’yozah said, giving T’oast a pat on the head. “You know that.”

“I was kidding, but thanks,” T’oast laughed. “Seriously, though. That is a lot. How do you even fit on the bed?”

“We’ll make room,” G’yozah shrugged, just as his mother appeared in the doorway.

“T’oast, dear,” she said. “We have free rooms if you want one. Or we can bring in a spare mattress to Yozah’s room.”

“It’s fine, mum, he can share my bed,” G’yozah said dismissively, and his mother’s eyes narrowed.

“And he’s just a friend, you say.”

“ _ Yes, _ mum,” G’yozah sighed. “Or a stuffed toy replacement, if you prefer that.” T’oast squinted and crossed his arms over his chest in protest, but found it hard not to smile.

“When’s dinner? I’m starving,” G’yozah said, changing the subject smoothly.

“I’m just about to start preparing it,” his mother said. “If you want it to go faster you can help set the table.”

“On it,” G’yozah said.

“If you don’t mind,” T’oast said, hesitating  a bit. “I would love to help with dinner preparations.”

“Oh, that’s not necessary, dear,” G’yozah’s mother said, and G’yozah laughed.

“Don’t worry, mum, he actually wants to,” he said. “In fact, he’s been cooking for the both of us for months and enjoying it.”

“Well, in that case,” G’yozah’s mother smiled. “I’d be happy for the help, dear. Let me show you the kitchen.”

T’oast nodded and followed her out.

***

”I hear you’re not in the same department as our Dumpling, what do you study, dear?,” G’yozah’s mum asked, and T’oast quickly turned his attention from the traditional stew on his plate to her.

”Medicine,” he answered, a little taken aback by the focus suddenly being on him, not to mention… <i>Dumpling</i>. Now that was something to file away.

”On a scholarship!,” G’yozah cut in next to him, and T’oast wished he could elbow the guy. ”He’s smart!”

G’yozah’s mum seemed delighted, and across the table G’in hummed, before speaking.

”Perfect, maybe you can fix G’yozah then. I place all my fate in you, please fix him.”

”Hey! I’m perfectly healthy, nothing to fix here!”

G’in raised her eyebrows and looked straight at T’oast. ”See?,” she said. ”Completely delusional.”

T’oast couldn’t help but laugh a little.

”And where are you from?,” the questions continued. ”What do your parents do?”

”Mum,” G’yozah protested next to him, sending her a clear look of <i>don’t go there</i>, and T’oast appreciated it. Though he knew she meant no harm, most likely she only wanted to know more about this ’boyfriend’ of her son’s. If anything, it was sweet that they were so encouraging.

”It’s okay, G’yozah. I went to school in Gridania. My parents— don’t exist,” he admitted, realising that that may actually avoid more awkwardness. He was almost surprised, though a little grateful, that G’yozah hadn’t told her.

It seemed to take her a moment to take in the words, but then she looked taken aback, and with another <i>look</i> from G’yozah, she quickly changed the topic back to his culinary skills. Under the table he felt G’yozah grab his hand and squeeze it gently.

He squeezed back.   
  


***

 

”So you light it like this,” G’yozah explained, lifting a flap in the paper lantern, and lighting the candle inside. ”And then we just place them all around the garden! Up on any ledges as well, well, where we can reach!” He laughed and lifted the lantern onto the nearest window sill.   
  
”I’ve never heard of this before,” T’oast commented softly, picking up a lantern and assembling it like G’yozah had just shown him.    
  
”It’s an old Ala Mhigan tradition actually. I’m not even sure a lot of people there do it these days but, mum’s always loved it so we keep it going.” G’yozah grinned, grabbing another lantern.   
  
”What are the lights for?”    
  
”You know how Starlight is like, celebrated around the winter solstice? It’s the darkest day of the year,” G’yozah explained and T’oast nodded.    
  
”It’s said we have to light lanterns to make sure the darkness doesn’t take over, to help the light keep balance.”   
  
”As if it actually does anything,” G’in laughed from nearby, where she was hanging up the same lanterns.   
  
”Hey! Don’t let mum hear you say that,” G’yozah chuckled. ”She’d be devastated to hear you don’t believe in it.”   
  
G’in snorted. ”As if she believes in it. It’s just tradition.”   
  
”It’s a nice one,” T’oast said. ”I like it.”   
  
He’d never taken part in any similar traditions before. This one felt— It was an oddly comforting idea, that there were people lighting lanterns to make sure there would be light even in the darkest of times. Yeah, he liked it.   
  
”Apparently in Ala Mhigo they go out and light them up on the cliffs, since it’s such a mountainy area, so there’ll be like, rows of light in the distance if you look out in the middle of the night.”   
  
”That must be really pretty,” T’oast mused, and G’in chuckled again.    
  
”Probably, I hope the Garleans appreciate it.”   
  
T’oast raised an eyebrow. G’in was impressively direct and much less naive compared to G’yozah. It was a little surprising, but he found he quite liked her.    
  
”Anyway, I should tell you about the time my dear little brother here stuck his head into—”   
  
”G’in!!” G’yozah protested and threw an unlit lantern at her. T’oast laughed.   
  
”Half his hair burned off, and it smelled <i>gross</i>.”   
  
Another lantern flew across the garden and G’yozah was pouting now, but his eyes showed that he was holding back a laugh at the memory himself.   
  
”Mum had to cut his hair short. I’ve never seen him so devastated, the little princess. You should’ve seen him!”    
  
T’oast laughed. ”I wish I could,” he said, and then dodged a lantern as G’yozah shrieked something that sounded like ’traitor’.   
  
”I’m sure we have pictures, honestly he had good reason to be upset it looked ridiculous.”   
  
Both him and G’in laughed again, and a smile was pulling on G’yozah’s pouting lips.   
  
In the end it did take them another two hours to finish setting up the lanterns between all the jokes and bickering, but T’oast had fun the entire time.

So this was family.

***

It was around midnight, when they all gathered outside the hotel. In addition to the whole family, there were a couple of guests who were staying over the holiday, and G’yozah’s mother had prepared a large pot of a warming rolanberry drink. T’oast cradled his cup in his hands, letting its warmth spread into him and watched the lights flicker all around the yard. They were just sitting there, and no one was talking. 

There were small, infrequent flakes of snow falling from the dark sky, melting as soon as they touched the ground, but as they fell they created shadows and reflections in the many lanterns spread around, lighting the world in glitter.

Even though it was pitch dark outside, even the moon hidden completely behind the heavy clouds, the world didn’t feel dark.

“It really is beautiful,” he mumbled, and G’yozah grinned.

***

G’yozah’s childhood bed was softer than T’oast was used to. It was ridiculously comfortable, but T’oast suspected his back wouldn’t appreciate it in the long term. He turned over to his side, closing his eyes.

“You okay?” he heard G’yozah ask behind him. “You’ve been pretty quiet all evening. And my mum being all— like <i>that</i>.”

“I’m okay,” T’oast said. He turned around to see G’yozah watching him with a frown. 

“Sure you are,” G’yozah said. “We can leave, you know. I can make up some excuse if you want to head back.”

T’oast shook his head. “No, it’s not that. I’m fine, really. It’s just...a lot, I guess.”

G’yozah reached out for him, bringing him into a hug. “I can tell them to back off, my sisters at least. They can be real pests sometimes. Especially G’in.”

T’oast laughed a bit. “You say that, but you love them. It’s obvious how much you all care about each other,” he said. “It’s… it’s good. It’s really good.”

G’yozah held him a bit tighter. “It’s how it’s supposed to be,” he sad. “I still can’t believe your foster families didn’t understand that.”

T’oast shook his head. “Don’t judge them too hard. I wasn’t exactly an easy child to love,” he said. “I was angry, got into fights, kept to myself, didn’t let anyone close. I tried, once or twice, but… well, most people aren’t as accepting as you are.”

“What happened to you wasn’t your fault,” G’yozah said, fingers tangling into T’oast’s hair. It felt nice. Comforting. 

“So you said,” T’oast smiled. “I think the closest I’ve had to real family was... Do you remember the guy I told you about, who tried to leave the the traffickers and take me with him?”

“Yeah, you said he made your papers,” G’yozah nodded. “He took care of you?”

“Yeah. He tried his best to give me a good childhood and teach me about right and wrong, despite the circumstances. Naive, maybe, but he’s probably the reason I’m not dead or in jail right now,” T’oast said with a short, bitter laugh. “He cared about me. And I got him killed.”

“It wasn’t-”

“No, that was my fault,” T’oast interrupted him. “The leader suspected something, and tricked me into telling him. He said there’d be no punishment if I did. I should have known better.”

“How old were you?” G’yozah asked.

“I’m not sure. Nine or ten, maybe,” T’oast said. “I knew the leader was a liar, but I somehow thought he wouldn’t hurt, well,  _ family _ . Not beyond the usual beating, anyway. I was wrong.”

“Did they  _ beat _ you as a child?” G’yozah asked, something like pain in his voice.

“I don’t know why that surprises you, they were criminals,” T’oast said with a laugh. “Well, never the guy who tried to save me. But it really isn’t that uncommon, even among normal people.”

“Well, it should be,” G’yozah said. He snuggled a little closer to T’oast. “My mother already loves you, you know. She will be so disappointed when she realises we’re telling the truth about not dating.”

“We’re doing a great job convincing her, I’m sure,” T’oast smiled, gesturing vaguely to the two of them, cuddling on G’yozah’s bed. G’yozah laughed.

“I don’t care,” he said. “This is comfy.”

“Agreed,” T’oast said, then grinned. “ _ Dumpling. _ ”

G’yozah groaned. “Don’t you start too!”

***

“WAKE UP, LOVEBIRDS! IT’S STARLIGHT!”

T’oast shot up in bed, adrenaline pumping through his veins, ready for flight or fight, before he saw G’yozah’s sister laughing at them through the door. Laughing at him, mostly. G’yozah must have already been awake, cause he didn’t seem sleepy at all, just lounging on the bed.

“Go away,” he said irritably, throwing a stuffed green monstrosity in the direction of his sister, who deftly dodged it and ran away laughing.

“You okay?” G’yozah asked, eyeing T’oast with a worried look, and T’oast realised he was still standing on the bed, hair raised. He took a deep breath and sank down to sit on the bed instead, feeling the adrenaline dissipate.

“Yeah, sorry,” T’oast said. “I thought for sure there was an emergency or something.”

G’yozah gently patted him on the head, smoothing down his hair again. “She was probably hoping to catch us in an  _ intimate _ moment,” he said. “She can be a bit of an ass, sorry about that.”

T’oast smiled. “Siblings, huh? Seems like fun.”

“It’s a pain,” G’yozah said, but he was smiling. “So, present time!”

“Right,” T’oast said, feeling a bit of that panic return right away. He had been dreading this, if he was honest. Sure, he did bring a present for G’yozah, but G’yozah had insisted he didn’t bring anything for the family and that they give something together instead and— G’yozah had never shared any more details than that and he felt… so unprepared.

“It’ll be okay,” G’yozah said, ruffling T’oast’s hair again before getting on his feet. “Come on, let’s go downstairs!”

They gathered in the hotel common room downstairs. G’yozah’s mother and G’renadine were already dressed, but G’in was still in her pajamas like G’yozah and T’oast. She grinned at them as they came down the stairs.

“Awh, how times have changed,” she said. “I remember when we were little and you snuck down at midnight to open your presents, and we’d find you sleeping among the torn papers in the morning.”

“That was  _ one time _ ,” G’yozah protested, face taking a red tint. T’oast couldn’t help but laugh, and G’yozah gave him a look of fake betrayal. “Don’t believe everything she says. I was a wonderful child.” G’in just snorted.

They sat down on the sofas near the surprisingly large pile of colourfully wrapped boxes resting next to a small tree, completely covered in glitter. It looked nothing like any Starlight trees T’oast had seen before, but it did its job. He smiled when he noticed all the tiny plush toys hanging at odd places of the tree, looking dusty and old, in that well loved way. G’yozah must have decorated it a long time ago and they’d kept putting them there maybe… It was nice.

“Now then, let’s open the presents so we can move on to breakfast!,” G’yozah’s mum exclaimed. Everyone nodded, started sorting through the present one by one, passing them to each other as it became clear who they were meant for. 

“There’s one for you as well, dear.” T’oast looked up quickly, and noticed G’yozah’s mum smiling at him. 

“There’s more than one,” G’yozah corrected, pushing two colourful packages into T’oast arms. “From mum and from me.”

“I.. thank you,” T’oast said, a little wide eyed. He had known, rationally, that G’yozah had gotten him a present. He had told him so himself, and he had said his mother was likely to give something as well. Still, hearing that was different from actually sitting here on Starlight morning, with two packages in his lap, surrounded by people who actually wanted him there. He felt something stick in his throat.

G’yozah gave him a little nudge. “Come on, open it.”

Thankful for the distraction, he started opening the present, careful not to rip the paper. Around him the others were giving out and opening presents themselves, less carefully than T’oast was. G’yozah, however, seemed to just be watching him. 

He finally removed the last layer of paper, revealing a box containing a frying pan. A very nice, expensive-looking,  clean,  _ new  _ frying pan. He stared. 

“It’s entirely selfish,” G’yozah explained quickly, as if sensing T’oast was about to protest. “You always complain about the dorm pans being gross trash and I just want to eat your fried stuff.”

T’oast just put the box down and gave him a hug. He didn’t quite manage to get the words “thank you” out, but he was sure G’yozah understood.

He opened the present from G’yozah’s mother next, curious and a bit nervous. He was surprised to see hand knitted sweater, black with a red pattern.

“Thank you,” he said, turning to G’yozah’s mother, finding the words easier now.

“You’re welcome, dear. Try it on,” G’yozah’s mother said. “I’m afraid it might be a bit loose. I did ask Yozah for your measurements, but I’m afraid I didn’t quite believe him. You really should eat more.”

T’oast laughed happily. “I’ll try,” he promised. 

“I got a similar one,” G’yozah said, holding up his own gift. “Mum likes knitting.”

“So do I,” T’oast smiled. “Though yours isn’t knitted, it’s crochet.”

“Oh?” G’yozah frowned. “What’s the difference?”

“Hook instead of needles. Knitting goes faster, but you can shape crochet into practically anything, see yours has fancy edges, that’s a lot of fun.”

G’yozah’s eyes lit up with an idea suddenly. “Anything?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” T’oast frowned, wondering where this was leading.

“Any shape at all? And size?”

“Yeah, with the right yarn and pattern. A lot of people make small stuffed toys, actually.”

G’yozah quickly turned to his mum. “Mum, will you teach me how to crochet?” She looked at him in surprise, but agreed without questioning him at all. 

“Great,” G’yozah grinned, and T’oast frowned again. He was planning something, but T’oast wasn’t sure what.

After that G’yozah handed out what was revealed to be some Uldah’n specialty wine and spicy chocolates to his sisters and mum, claiming it was from the both of them. T’oast didn’t protest. Judging by the delighted faces, it had been a good choice. G’yozah knew his family well.

Finally, T’oast handed over the present he’d been holding onto the entire time, his own present for G’yozah. He watched nervously as G’yozah tore through the paper, revealing the gift to be a mug with geometric patterns painted on it.

“Oh wow,” G’yozah said, turning it around in his hand and stroking a thumb over the glaze and some of the slightly uneven bumps T’oast was far too conscious about. “T’oast, did you make this?”

T’oast nodded nervously. “Ceramics class. You don’t have to use it if you—”

“I love it,” G’yozah interrupted him, smiling widely. T’oast knew him well enough to see it was genuine, and felt his entire body relax almost instantly. He’d been so worried, but it had been in vain. G’yozah quickly proceeded to show his mother and sisters the gift, and the relaxed feeling became embarrassment as G’yozah’s sisters inspected the mug closely.

But even so— He was grateful G’yozah had brought him along.

***

The train ride back to Ul’dah was slow and quiet, like usual. T’oast fell asleep already during the first hour, and was leaning on G’yozah’s arm. He woke up enough to change position every now and then, to lean against the window instead, but eventually ended up against G’yozah’s arm anyway. G’yozah may or may not have helped with that a bit. It was cold in the train and T’oast was nice and warm against his side.

He was wasting time trying to use his newfound crocheting skills to make a dick. Just a small one, as practice. It was turning out a little uneven and tilted very much to the left, but honestly, he had seen weirder dicks in real life. None of them had been bright purple, though, but his mother’s yarn stash didn’t have any skintones. A shame really. He’d need to find a yarn shop in Ul’dah.

“Hey, T’oast,” He said, nudging his friend a little. T’oast slowly raised his head, looking sleepily up at a him. G’yozah held up the dick. “What do you think?”

T’oast frowned. It took him a moment to anwer. “I think if that was attached to an actual person they should probably go see a doctor.”

G’yozah laughed. “Ass,” he said. “This is my first dick. My crochet virginity. Be gentle with me.”

T’oast snorted. “Fine. It’s very recognisable as a dick. Good job!”

G’yozah wiggled his ears. “Thank you, thank you,” he said. “So Starlight is over. Got any plans for new years?”

“Not really. They give out funny hats in the cafeteria the day before so I was planning on looking like a dork, but nothing outside that.”

“How about looking like a dork in the Dragonhead with me?” G’yozah said. “Haurchefant throws the best parties. I’m sure we can get you laid. I know some guys who are into dorks.”

T’oast rolled his eyes. “Substitute ‘laid’ for ‘drunk’ and I’m in.”

“Great! I’ll hold you to that,” G’yozah said, then put the dick into T’oast front pocket. “I case you change your mind about wanting dick.”

T’oast just laughed. G’yozah grinned, took up the yarn and a hook. The next attempt would be even better. And with another week until uni started up again, he would have long since mastered the art of crochet dicks when reality hit and he’d have to sort out his missing credits.

Maybe he could sell them.

***

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> The level of self-indulgency here is indeed high, but we swear some of this is relevant for a larger plot. We also swear there will be NPCs soon. And part 3 is already ready, so coming soon!


End file.
